Scratch all those stories about Americans becoming more serious about credit-card debt.

Despite the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 — and even though many Americans reduced their credit-card debt during this year’s first quarter — millions of Americans once again went on a card-spending binge in the second quarter.

That’s according to a new study by CardHub.com that says card debt hit a post-recession high by the end of June, increasing by $28 billion.

“For the first time in the past six years, consumers reversed almost the entirety of their standard first-quarter paydown during the second quarter of the year,” according to the CardHub 2014 Credit Card Study.

Still, another card industry observer said he wasn’t sure if these numbers represent a new big-spending trend.

“This is one quarter of data. So, let’s see if this goes on for two consecutive quarters,” said Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com.

But the CardHub findings come at the same time a National Foundation for Credit Counseling study finds that 20 percent of Americans live beyond their means.

Those Americans told NFCC they couldn’t maintain their lifestyles without credit cards. And 22 percent said they would have to “make significant lifestyle changes” if they cut back or ended their use of credit cards.

“The numbers suggest that some Americans are building a credit-card lifestyle that could be on a slippery slope,” said Gail Cunningham, a spokeswoman for NFCC. She added that, for the past few years, many have wanted to spend more, with seemingly better times now their justification to do so.

At this pace of card spending, the CardHub report said, Americans, who generally increase spending in the second half of the year because of the holidays, will add $54 billion of new card debt this year.

What does that mean for the average American household?

CardHub said the average household card debt rose by $174 in the second quarter, to $6,804. The average household card debt, if current trends continue, will be about $7,000 during 2014, “reaching levels not seen since the end of 2010,” CardHub said.

At $7,000 of card debt, assuming a 20 percent rate of interest, the average household would be paying $1,400 in annual interest charges, assuming nothing is added to the principal.

Hardekopf warns that these people are risking financial disaster. He offers his card rule: “If you charge something and can’t pay it off within the month, then you shouldn’t charge it.”

Many Americans, Cunningham adds, are risking repeating the disasters of 2008. That’s when many couldn’t pay card bills.

“Consumers should take a hard look at their spending, have a budget and stick to it,” she said.